


I'll Be There | | Marauders Era

by DeadlyPoisonous



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-12
Updated: 2020-03-13
Packaged: 2020-12-09 13:23:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20995502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeadlyPoisonous/pseuds/DeadlyPoisonous
Summary: Elspeth Rummage has grown to believe she is an ordinary witch, attending Hogwarts, the home of her dreams for years. As school years drag on, she discovers secrets that alter the past she once knew, entirely. With the help of Remus, James, Sirius, and Peter, she must discover the truth of her past, even when means to be taken include danger. She will face unknown dangers, endure the mysteries of love, and come face to face with the past she never knew.





	1. Chapter 1-The Beginning

I sit on the benches and watch with the players as my mother enchants people in the crowd, right before the Quidditch game. Over the years it has always amazed me how Veela can put boys in a certain state, that being a trance. Even the look or just the move of their hips is a hypnotizing circumstance, and I like to think it's probably how she got my father to fall in love with her.

My father had come from Scotland to England a long time ago, a short time after a full moon. His "pack" was traveling down for reasons left unknown to me, but it was important so I've heard. In attempts of getting to know home, my father and his brother split from the pack and ventured on to see what kind of life they would start. My father began working in the ministry and my uncle grew fond of Quidditch, so took his professions there. On one of my uncle's game night's, one my father had attended, my mother took on her first show, and that's where they met.

Some time after, when they had fallen in love and had me, my mum was found in a bad place with some bad people and sent my dad and I to Scotland where he had raised me until I was the age of nine. A dark force had found us out and killed him before my very eyes. It came to me with welcoming arms, but when I denied it power, it sought to kill me, but failed. My strong fight against it had left a scar on my arm, one like my father's, that leaves a trace of remembrance every day of my life.

I will always remember my dad's scream as he jumped in front of me, saving my life. The colors that flashed before my eyes, blinding me until who had killed him had gone. His body was cold and limp, scaring the young girl that I was. His expression was pained, and he held so much sorrow in his eyes, so much that it had broken my young heart. His eyes were gold, he was horribly pale, and his hair no longer held its usual liveliness. He was dead, but it was so hard for me to admit...

I shake off the horrid memory and look down at my arm, where I see my scar laying across my forearm. It stares back at me, as if to have shared the same memory. My dad was a hero to many, not just myself, but his sacrifice was apparently not important to most. He is hardly ever remembered, for his great ministry work or for his savings.

Snapping myself out of my daze, I look up and see my mother walking off the field and over to me. Her elegant dress swayed behind her and she pulled her hair out from it's tangle bun, her beauty radiating for miles around us, still drawing the attention of the crowd.

She had silvery blonde hair that curled in thick layers, down, down, until it stopped and swept over her back. Her skin was fair and smooth, like a glass doll's, and the only intrusion was the faint rose hue in her high-boned cheeks. Her eyes were as blue as the ocean, and as soulful as an old woman who experienced the whole world; so wise. Her lips pouted just right and shone, ruby, glistening in the light. Her nose was rounded and pinched, cute, which she often complained about and was often complimented on. She held a breathtaking beauty that none could compare to, and I sometimes wonder, how could I possibly be her daughter?

"I'm done now, sweetheart. Do you want to go home? It's getting late and you can catch the game anytime. We do also have a big day tomorrow, with Diagon Alley and all," she tells me, giving weary looks up at the people who stare down admiringly.

"I would like to go home, yes," I reply, feeling as though I need a break from thinking of my father. She sends me a reassuring smile and we leave the arena, hand in hand.

* * *

As the time draws nearer, I jump around excitedly, waiting for my mother to finish readying herself to go, in which she often takes her time.

"Mum, let's go!" I shout in anticipation, my voice echoing throughout the halls around me, a voice so familiar, I can even pick my father's accent from it.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," she tells me, making her way down the big staircase. She opens her arms wide and does a small twirl, giving me a full display of her skintight black dress, as I would expect since she is one who dresses to impress. "Do I look okay?" She asks and pushes hair from her face.

"You look fine mum, maybe not fitting for the occasion, but fine. Now let's go!" I say and grab hold of her hand. With all of my focus, I push all of my energy and magic to my thoughts and we disappear from the manor. Everything around us spins, and a falling sensation strikes me, making my mother and I feel uneasy. Finally, after moments of dizziness, we appear in the busy streets of Diagon Alley. Apparation, an easier travel.

"Okay, mum I have this all planned out. If you would please go get my books and supplies, I'll deal with the robes, the animal, and the wand," I instructed her.

"Well, okay then, Ellie. Be safe, have fun, and once you finish collecting what you need, meet me out front of Ollivander's," she tells me and walks off to get my supplies.

For my first stop, I rush to Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions, eager to get it over with.

"Excuse me, madam, may I get fitted right now? I am on a tight schedule today and would love to get this going," I ask her kindly, batting my eyes for extra dramatic effect.

The woman looks down at me with a weary eye for a good minute, terror trapped behind the eyes, but in the end, nods. "Yes, come now child," she says with a thick accent and waves me over. She waddles to the back and I follow behind, not wanting to waste any time. Once we're at the back, she gestured me to jump up onto the pedestal to be fitted.

The woman spreads my arms out and starts measuring me with great haste. I feel like eyes were boring into me, so I look to my side and see a boy, a little older than me, with platinum blonde hair looking at me. He was probably having his robes refitted.

With an uneasy smile, I decide to address him. "Hello, there," I greet with an exhausted smile. He never responded to my greeting and just kept staring at me. After a couple of minutes of waiting, I address him once more.

"What?" I ask him.

From my stern gaze, he snaps out of his trance and looks me in the eye. "You're really pretty," he says.

"Thank you," I respond, shifting uncomfortably. I never get many compliments, but I know he only says so because every veela and half veela are attractive to people.

"I'm Lucius, Lucius Malfoy," The boy states hastily, outstretching me a hand to shake.

"I'm Elspeth, Elspeth Rummage," I reply, reluctantly shaking his.

"Rummage? Where have I heard that name before? Who are your parents? What blood status are you?" He asks with strong interest, batting his eyes nonchalantly.

"I'm half Veela. My father was a wizard, and an important one at that."

"Humph. I'm a pure-blood." He sneers as if he were superior in every way possible.

For the rest of our time in the shop, on the pedestal, there was only silence wedged between us. Finally, after an hour of standing side by side, it was over. I thank the woman in a hurry, and rush out of the shop, robes in my arms.

Next on my list would be Mr. Ollivander's wand shop, and it was quite an important stop. I hurried over to his quaint little shop and push the door open that triggers a little ring. I stalk to the counter and place my hands over the wood boards, peering over with curiosity.

"Hello? Mr. Ollivander?" I call out.

Behind the counter, and older man with fuzzy white hair and piercing blue eyes pops up and stares me down with a soft smile tugging at the end of his lips. He towered over me by a couple feet and his bright teeth gleamed down at me with such generosity.

"Ahh, Miss Rummage, I was wondering when you would make it in," he said with such wondrous fascination.

"You-you know me?" I asked with all the curiosity I had. I had only just met him, so how could he possibly know me.

"Oh, my dear, but of course. You look much like your father. The hair, the eyes, I've seen it all before." His smile fell at the mentioning of my father. It was obviously a topic so close to heart. "So, according to how I study, I may know a few wands that could be held suitable."

He walked to the back and scanned the shelves so quick, it was almost unnoticeable. His gaze shifted over one box far longer than the rest, and as he passed, he muttered under his breath, "Nothing but a last resort."

He finally slides over to a dusty, gray, shelf, and pulls out a redwood box that looks recently polished, as nice as if it were done by magic. He shuffles back to the counter, opens the box gently, and pulls out a cedar, smooth, wand with engravings of vines decorating the rim. He hands it over to me and stares with curiosity, awaiting the results.

With high adrenaline, I give it a flick, up into the air. Boxes spill from the shelves, and fly through the air until they hit the wall. Crashes and the sound of broken objects echo throughout the shop. Ollivander closes his eyes real tight and shakes his head lightly.

"No, no, not that one," he says and slips the wand from between my fingers, putting it back in the box. He picks up his own wand and without turning around, flicks his wrist, resulting in the boxes with wands flying back onto the shelves.

He shuffles back to the shelves and tucks it away, sliding through the shelves once again. Once he lands on the box he wants, he taps his finger on it and pulls it off the shelf. The box is smooth, a pearly black color that shines brightly in the candlelight. With a sly swipe, he places it on the counter before me. With a gentle tug, he opens it to reveal a carefully cut, dark wand with bumpy, intricate features.

I lift the wand from the box, and once again flick my wrist. The light above our heads shatters into thousands of shards and rains down upon us, a glistening shower that slashes at our skin. Quickly placing the wand back in the box, I take a few steps back.

"Sorry," I say.

"All is well, my dear," he tells me in a comforting voice as he once again flicks his wrist with his own wand and the light is repaired; all is well.

Once again, he takes the box and puts it back in its original placement.

He scans the shelves several times, each coming back with a wand that only causes more destruction. It was troubling how many kids came and left while I was stuck for nearly an hour. After having gone through dozens of boxes, he went to the back, once again taking a look at the box that he had muttered to at the start.

Giving me a quick glance, he mumbled to himself, "How could it be?"

He slides his palm across the box until it becomes silvery-white, reflecting a perfect image of himself that he looks into for what seems like forever. He studied it with eyes so full of what seems to be worry and fear, but he pulls it out anyway, and looks up at me. His lips move, but no words spill out of them.

He slides the white box in front of me and opens it slowly, taking a step back, as if he is waiting for a danger to arrive. I look over the wand with wonder, a devious smile playing at my lips. Pearly cream wood laced with a winter white inscription, almost taking shape of a vine with petals of gold erupting from the cracks. It hand incisions of cut wood, but still kept a beautiful shape.

"10 1/4", vine, phoenix feather core," he muttered lightly, staring down at it as if it were the ressurection of the Black Plague. "Carved from hands too pure to reckon and kissed with the flame of a phoenix. Beautiful and _powerful._"

I gently pull the wand from the box, eyes glued, mesmerized, and I feel a great power surge through me. My veins glow a soft hue of gold and my eyes light bright like a vibrant flame. My hair defied gravity and falls above my head, flapping as if in an invisible wind. It was extraordinary, but nothing I would ever know, as I expect.

With a powerful flick of my wrist, the room tidied up into a neat fashion, and light burst from the tip, brightening up the world around us.

Stars fell to the board beneath my feet, illuminating the ground in a white light. The world around us spun and spun, then stilled itself. When all seemed calm, the wand vibrated like never before, and a blue blast of light blew from the tip, and a creature emitted from the brightness, only to be gone as soon as it appeared. Faint mist encircled us, closing in and falling apart, twinkling in the darkness. There was no candle in sight, not even a flicker of a flame. Wax poured from every gold encrusted candelabra, specks hitting the floor and refliecting the room in sun-licked light, only giving me a leverage of more power. Within a suck of breath, it all flowed together, creating a coil of light, slithering across the floorboards and wrapping itself around my body in a deep embrace. The power lapped at my cheeks and lept to the air, disappearing from sight in an instant.

As soon as my wand hit the countertops, the majestic world ceased to exist around me, and I looked around for Mr. Ollivander who was nowhere to be seen.

I spun in a full circle before peering over the counter, looking down upon the body of Mr. Ollivander whose eyes were glued to the ceiling, as if he had seen a ghost. For a moment, I was worried I had killed him before he blinked and opened his mouth, then closed it, sucking in a rasping breath.

His eyes drifted my way and he sat up as if he had been doused with electricity. He stood with a jump and leaned over the counter, looking me in the eye, and muttered in deep whispers that were quite unreadable.

"There are great wonders within you child, great wonders indeed. Wand or no wand, your father's spirit wanders deep within you, and I fear it may be your undoing. In the wrong hands, you are a dangerous weapon," his voice is below a whisper, and his hands shake violently as if he were having a seizure. "Promise me you will only submit to good! Promise me! Promise me!" Every word got louder the longer he held it.

"I promise! I promise," I whisper assuringly, more fearful of his worry than what I had just done.

He looks at me for another good minute before pulling away, as if he didn't trust me with the promise. He had to find assurance in my eyes, in my father's eyes.

Worried of what might happen if I stay any longer, I leave the shop with my back facing the door, running once I was in the outside world. It had been an intense meeting, and I was feeling rather skittish. Wizards swarmed around me, and each one spooked me more than the next. In order to get away from the paranoia in my mind, I continued on with my schedule, heading to the pet shop.

With a shaky breath and a wobbly step, I walk into the pet shop which echoed the many sounds of cheerful children and fascinating pets. The skittish emotion that had controlled me slipped away as my eyes wandered the shop. It was full of a variety of kittens, rats, and owls. All were unique in their very own way.

I looked through almost every section, stopping every now and again when I saw animals who would most likely appeal to me, but I felt none of them could emotionally match me. I had almost given up hope until I crossed paths with one little kitten who had instantly caught my eye. It was both ginger-red and silky black with golden eyes that shone like the sun. As children passed by, they showed no interest or care for the creature, some even showed disgust. In attempts to save it from unneeded solitude, I picked up the little thing and held it to the light.

"You. I choose you," I twirled him around and all my troubles flew away. "I'm going to call you...Checkers," I say and walk up to the counter. Grabbing a small bag of galleons and dropping them on the counter, I take Checkers along as my new friend. He purrs in gratitude and rests in my arms, assuring me that everything will be alright.


	2. Chapter 2

My mother rushes me into Kingscross Station and pushes my trolley for me, eager to do it since she had never really gotten the experience herself before. We had been traveling around for half an hour, looking all over to find platform nine and three quarters, but we couldn't. It would have been an easier find if my father had been here, but he wasn't, so we were left to ourselves.

As we continued our search for the undetected platform, we caught sound of muttering wizards talking about the way onto platform nine and three quarters.

I look around to spot who had said it and in the process, I see two girls with who I suppose is their mother. They seem to be around the same age and dressed funnily enough to be of a different world.

"Excuse me!" I call, rushing to them with a skip in my step. In a moment, they all stop and look my way. "Do you know where we could possibly find platform nine and three quarters?"

A daughter with frizzy black hair nods and points between platforms nine and ten. "It's right there," she says as if it were plainly obvious. "Thank you..." I trail off. "Bellatrix," she replies, answering to my confusion. "Thank you, Bellatrix," I reply and drag my mum over to platforms nine and ten.

"So I guess we just...run through it," I tell her, not so convinced the idea was so smart. My mind was running through all the possibilities of. Maybe they weren't wizards and thought we were crazy people who would be fun to play a prank on?

Taking our chances, my mum and I grasp each others hand and we run through the wall, eyes squeezed shut, awaiting an impact.

I feel a gust of unsuspected wind and pop one eye open, studying the world around me. It was extraordinary and bright, beyond the muggle world we were just in. "We're here," I mumble to my mother and take a few steps forward, inspecting my surroundings.

People from far and wide gathered across the smokey platform, teary eyed with large smiles on their faces, happy yet sad to be apart. The plate that swings above my head reads platform nine and three quarters, bright and gold. In front of me sits a bright scarlet train engulfed by blankets of thick gray smoke. In bold, golden lettering, across the side, reads 'HOGWARTS EXPRESS'. We've made it.

With great excitement and anticipation, I don't waste in minute in my departure. I quickly hug my mum and say with a hurry, "Bye mum, I'll miss you."

"Wait, already gone?" She asks, as if it were the most offensive thing in the world.

"Yes, I don't want to waste a single minute," the sadness behind my tone can almost be read behind her gaze, and she nods. She understands the longing need to be anything near my father again.

"Bye baby, I'll miss you so much," she tells me and bends down, pulling me into the tightest hug she had ever given me. "Write to me every chance you get," she instructs and lets me go, reluctantly. In a hurry, I grab my trunk and Checkers, boarding the train.

As soon as I'm on, I look out the nearest window and wave to my mother. The train lets loose a large whistle and steam erupts from below, moving us slowly toward our destination. My mother waves back, tears brimming her eyes, and we keep waving each other off until we're out of distance to see each other.

I close the window and once again picked up my things, heading onward to my destination. In time, I go searching for a compartment to soak in peaceful silence to calm myself.

~a while later~

The train comes to a complete stop, and I am instructed to leave my belongings to be taken care of, so I leave my compartment with nothing but Checkers and hop off the train. As I do, I can hear the low voice of a man calling to all of the first years, so I look ahead and find a tall man with a bushy beard holding up an oil lamp.

His beatle black eyes call out to me, pinched with a warm smile. His hair was chestnut and tangled all the way down to his breast. He had a large, full belly and the height of someone who might be considered a giant.

"Firs' years! Firs' years this way!" He boomed out to the crowd of Hogwarts students that were filing out of the train.

I was the first to have walked over to him, and he looked down out me with a smile that beamed as bright as a swarm of fireflies. "Yer gonna love it 'ere. I'm sure of it," he says, reassuring my look of anticipation and worry.

Taking a deep breath, I smile up at him and nod waiting for all of the other first years crowd around. "Yer all here? Yah? Good. Follow me."

With as fast as our small legs can carry us, we all follow him to a line of small boats afloat on a big lake that surround the Hogwarts castle. The water was pitch black and looked chilling to the touch, and I knew it by story from the heart. The Black Lake.

"Wer' each gon' get on a boat and travel to 'Ogwarts. I'll be able to tell yeh lot more o' bout the school this way. Now, only four a boat! C'mon! Quickly now!" The man boomed out to the small crowd.

With as many people that were pushing through, I decided to get in the last boat where there were three other girls who seemed sheepish were waiting to get on. After they had gotten in, I hopped in and the boat began to follow after the others.

"Hello!" A girl with red hair beamed, looking at me as if a were a fascinating new discovery. "I'm Lily Evans."

"Hello," I greet and nod my head toward her.

"Hi, I'm Alice," the next girl peeped. I smile at her and turn to the last girl who twists her head when looking at me.

"You're not human, well...not fully at the least. You're really pretty, though, but you seem only half of a wizard. Are you half Veela, by any chance?" The girl asks me and I nod. "Interesting, I'm Pandora."

"Nice to meet you all. I'm Elspeth Rummage," I say in my accent that gets heavier by the more anxious I get. it's a trait I blame my father for giving to me.

"Rummage? Where have I heard that name before?" The girl who introduced herself as Lily asked, pondering it over herself. The other girls think for a moment too, but come up with nothing.

We carry out a conversation of introductions until the boat stops at the edge of land right below Hogwarts. We hop off the boat like the others and follow the big man inside the entrance of Hogwarts, through the two, intimidating front doors.

As we approached a marble staircase that led up to a floor that looked purely of gold in the light, a woman stepped forward and glared over the crowd. She was an older woman with emerald green robes, that flowed loosely until they hit the ground, wrapped with a golden tie. Her hair was pulled back into a tight bun of tawny and gray, overlapped with a silk black witch's hat.

She looked over the crowd with a firm expression and nodded to the big man that had led us inside. "Thank you, Hagrid," she told him sincerely before turning to us. "Now students, if you all would please follow me," she said strictly and turned her back to the crowd, insisting we follow with one harsh wave. We climbed the stairs and ran up to the woman who moved faster than any of us were expecting. Followed her through the halls of our new home, we studied the new surroundings that would get us through our days.

Many statues of nights stalked every corner, every picture of wizards and witches were hung neatly across the wall, candles illuminated the dark passageways we turned through, making everything look like lost cities of gold. Shadows of ghosts flew over our heads, chuckling and hollering to spook us for our upcoming adventure.

The witch had us stop and wait for a few moments as she made sure everything was ready, before ushering us into a grand hall where she said we would be sorted into our 'houses'.

Our eyes searched around us at the glory of this room. Many pairs of eyes stared back with excitement and curiosity, wondering if any of us will join their very own houses. With a marvelous hum, we look to the front of the hall where a battered old hat is placed on a stool.

The applause that greeted us died down, and a grumbling hum erupted from the hat. It started to twitch and move frantically, twisting back and forth before halting all too suddenly. A large wrinkle soothed out and widened, forcing at a sound so close to a yawn, as if it had just awoken from a nap. Then two large holes like eyes blinked and looked over the crowd of students.

It slouched and coughed, then with a deep, gravelly voice, it began to sing, with a melodic rhyme. I had never been one to pay much attention to the song, but the meaning behind the words, a skill I had received from my father. My mother wasn't one to pay much attention to anything. As the song came to an end, the hall erupted into applause again until the with had them quiet down.

She pulled out a long scroll full of what seemed to be names, and read over them carefully. "McKinnon, Marlene!" She called out and a girl with golden hair that flew behind her like the wind. She eagerly jumped on the stool and the witch placed the hat atop her head. It took no longer than a couple of seconds to shout out, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Next, she read over the list, "Fortescue, Alice!"

Alice, the friend I had made on the boat ride over had joyfully pushed past the crowd and hopped on the stool, hesitant on what to do next. The hat was placed upon her head and sat there for several minutes before calling aloud, "GRYFFINDOR!" for the second time.

They had gone through several people, some going to Hufflepuff, others to Slytherin, and my new friend Pandora made her way to Ravenclaw, which I believe suits her well. One in particular caught my attention, I couldn't possibly think of why.

"Snape, Severus!" The woman called out again, looking over us, to a small boy who didn't seem too eager to get up on the stool. He had black, greasy hair that touched his shoulders. His eyes were a soft brown and his nose was hooked and long. Some boys called out and made fun of him while he passed, but he paid them no mind. He made his way up front and sat with a frown, awaiting the answer.

The witch placed the hat on his head, and it seemed to have been stumped. It's eyes darted here and there before shouting out a long, unconfident, "SLYTHERIN!" It played it off cool, however, as the witch pulled it from the boy's head.

He forced a smile and proudly walked to the clapping Slytherin table with a skip in his step.

"Rummage, Elspeth!" I hardly even knew my name was called out until Lily had to nudge my shoulder and push me through the crowd of first years.

Shuffling up to the stool, face red from embarrassment, I mutter under my breath the worries of the results. What if I'm nothing? My mother was a Veela, so what if that's all I happen to be?

Despite my worries, which she knows not of, the witch places the hat atop my head and the weight pulls it down past my eyes so that I am not able to see the audience's eager faces.

I await an answer, as if it were that easy, before a deep, grumbling voice rings through my mind, one that no one else can hear:

Hmm...very interesting. Very interesting, indeed. So many personalities. So many....secrets. Oh, where to put you? Where to put...you? Heart of a Gryffindor, mind of a Slytherin, much like your father, I would say... He muttered to me.

‘You knew my father?' I questioned him with a single thought.

A brave man, a courageous man, he was. A heart of gold in which he followed, one might say he suited gryffindor well. But, a contradiction played its part. His mind was full of mischief and vengeance. Cunning, was that boy.

'No, no, you've got it wrong. There is no question that he was far from Slytherin.'

My dear, you've forgotten, I've been in his head, just like I'm in yours. The man you know was not who you knew, and the girl you are is not all the same.

'But what is that supposed to mean?'

I see a darkness that encircles you, one that is much closer than it might seem. A heart of gold, but a head of cunning ambition, both in which will cause you a deep trouble, open up an unwanted cut, like the one on your arm.

Looking down, past the rim of the hat, I trace the scar on my arm, memories resurface that make me feel sick to the stomach. In my head, all I have is a deep lust for revenge, revenge against the villains in my mind.

Slytherin would suit you well, achieve the goals you have set in mind...

All my thoughts divert to what Mr. Ollivander had told me, and what my father had said a long time ago, and I know what I would want best. What he would want best.

'Please, I want to be a Gryffindor.'

Are you sure? Slytherin would suit you well...

'I want to be a Gryffindor,' I restate more confidently.

Alright, then better make it...

"GRYFFINDOR!"

All Gryffindors at the table burst out an outstanding applause, one so deafening, it's almost unbelievable. They seem like a house quite accepting of the differences. I feel proud in my decision and make my way to the table with a skip in my step, sitting next to my friend, Alice.

"That was the longest hatstall anyone I know has ever seen," she whispers to me before our attention snaps back to the stage.

Hatstall? Is all I can think, but don't bother to ask.

I didn't pay much attention to the rest of the sorting. All I know is that Lily got into Gryffindor, along with four boys who only looked like trouble. The girls I met at Kings Cross and the boy from Diagonalley were sorted into Slytherin. Pandora was a Ravenclaw, which I thought suited her well.

The woman from before stood and looked upon the crowd before taking a seat beside a man with a friendly smile, large gray beard, violet robes, and halfmoon glasses. He lifted a glass and stood from his chair, gently flicking it with his forefinger. "The very best of evenings to you!" He called out among the hall when he grabbed our attention. "Now… to our new students, welcome, to our old students, welcome back! Another year full of magical education awaits you…and it will be an exciting year." His eyes twinkle like starlight, and his gaze fixes itself upon me.

He nods his head my way, to my confusion, and carries on with his speech.

"We have great plans for this bunch, I assure you. Now, before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Ratoon, Boustrophedon, Godwottery, and Widdershins. Thank you," he finished and sat back down, allowing us to begin.

All around me, students began the big feast, but all I could do was just stare at all the food. There was so much of it, along with so much in my mind, I didn't even know where to begin. Although I was served a lot of food at my mum's mansion, it was never like this. It looked kind of like my father's cooking, and it touched home.

"Oi, Rummage! Are you going to eat or am I going to have to eat for you?" Alice asked me, snapping to get my attention.

Giving a small chuckle, I send her a deserving nod. "Yeah, yeah, alright. I'll eat," I assure her and reach around the table, grabbing a whole bunch of different things and stacking it upon my plate.

After about an hour or two, the headmaster, who introduced himself as Dumbledore, instructed the prefects to show all of us first years to our dorms.

We all got up and followed our prefect to where we were supposed to be. We twisted, turned, and curved through the hallways every which way. We climbed moving stairs and slid through different passageways until we reached a portrait that hung neatly on the wall.

Within the portrait, a woman stood, more heavy set, wearing a large gown of pink silks and winter white lace. Pearls hung around her body, and her hair was set in curls above her head. She looked rather uninterested, but had nothing better to do.

"What is it then? What's the password?" she spoke rather blandly, scaring the muggle-born wizards and I. My mother and father never warned me portraits could talk, and I wondered if this accounted for all photographs.

The prefect leaned in and spoke with clear sincerity, "Banana fritters."

The portrait swung open to reveal a room all decked out in banners and furniture the colors of sunny gold and scarlet red.

We all filed in, then, they showed us to the dorms we would be staying in. Luckily for me, I shared a dorm with Lily and Alice, whom I have already befriended. Marlene McKinnon, Dorcas Meadowes, and Mary McDonald shared a room with us too, but I didn't know them as well as I could. With this strong beginning, I knew this was going to be the best time I've had in a long time.


	3. Chapter 3

It's been about a full month since we began our adventure at Hogwarts, and I can say that for the most part, it has been enjoyable.

I've made quite a few friends here and there, mainly the girls from Kings Cross and the other three that I share a dorm with. But on the downside, the boys who I claimed would be trouble (James Potter, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, and Sirius Black) have been awfully rude to my friends.

It's not as much that Lupin boy than the other three. Potter and Black start the problems, always, often with a prank, and Pettigrew cheers them on. It's all quite a tough situation, but as it is just the beginning of our time, I'm sure we'll get through it.

Early this morning, I get a head start and sit at the Gryffindor table, eating breakfast while reading the Daily Prophet. The cover's headtitle is an acclamation for the Prime Minister, who I wouldn't be too fond of. They praise him out of fear of what I rising power may do, nothing more, nothing less.

As I read through the many articles, Alice comes running at me, a big gleaming smile on her round face. "Ellie, you're not going to believe this, but something amazing just happened!" She exclaimed in a speed faster than supersonic.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down," I chuckled, pulling her down by the arm so that she could sit down beside me. "Now, what is so amazing that you had to come barreling at me at speeds of a cheetah for?"

She took in a few deep breaths and smiled only grew wider and tighter by the second. "We, Pandora and I, went out for a walk on school grounds...well of course on school grounds...and we came across this old tree. You see, it's this big old willow that's been around for decades, and we're like 'Oh cool, a tree!' So we're just checking it out when Pandora notices this opening at the bottom, like a big giant gap in the ground beneath the tree. And I'm like 'Yeah, I'm doing it.' Before she can stop me I dive in and it's this cool little secret hideout and I just thought we should show you," she says, far too quickly for her own good.

I look around to see if anyone was listening to our conversation. No one but Lupin, Black, Potter, and Pettigrew were at the Gryffindor table, but they were at a far enough distance from us to not hear us.

"Where on the grounds is it?" I asked excitedly. I have never been much excited about things like this, but today, I thought of it as an opportunity for something exciting. If and when we are being harassed, especially by those boys, we have somewhere to hide out without being found.

Alice eagerly jumps to her feet and grabs my hand, pulling me to my feet as well. Within an instant, she begins running. The eyes of the four weirdos follow us out the door of the Great Hall.

No P.O.V.

Remus, Sirius, James, and Peter all watched as the strange girl Alice loudly pulls Elspeth from the Great Hall in a hurry. None of them had really understood girls, especially these ones, nor did they want to.

"What do you suppose their doing?" James asks, watching them fade far from view.

"Probably smacking each other's heads with feathered pillows or messing up their faces with colorful gunk," Sirius began, chewing on some toast. "Girls do that, right?"

Remus, who had just looked up from a book he'd been reading, snorted and shot Sirius a look so indescribable, they weren't sure is he were disgusted, pleased, or confused. The three of them stared back at him, hoping he would give some sort of answer, and after some time of having them worry, he started to speak.

"For one, the messy thing where girls smack their heads in, it's a pillow fight. For two, the icky gunk they slab all over their faces, make-up, is used on many girls. It's 'All in', whatever that means. Three, what've you three got that brings so much interest into your minds about what girls will be doing, hmm?" He begins, placing his book on the table and soothing out the wrinkles on the pages.

Sirius, James, and Peter stared at each other for a long few moments, relying on each other to answer what they had been asked.

Remus looked between them with a look of amusement and closed his book. "No one? Nothing? Well, I best be off, then. Lots of work to be doing. No, no. No need to tag along, it's book study. Of course, something your cerebrum couldn't comprehend. Have fun...talking of girly stuff and the sort," and with that, Remus walked away, book bag in hand, leaving the others to think of what any of his words meant.

Remus, feeling very self-confident, took long strides down the hall with his head held high, all the way out into the courtyard, whistling with every song that had entered his mind.

Finally, he came across the spot he had been looking for, one he had been traveling to throughout the month he had been at Hogwarts. The willow tree beside the Black Lake, in school grounds, but far enough away from the civilization roaming the school.

He placed all his belongings upon the ground with a clunk and pulled himself up the branches of the tree, seating himself upon the biggest branch and reading his book in peaceful solitude.

Elspeth's P.O.V.

Alice continued to pull me through the grassy courtyard until we reached an enormous tree, which stood heavy and bare. It swayed to and fro, a reasoning I believed could only be the wind, but it was much more than it seemed to the eye.

"Well, you're right. It's...a tree," I state, quite blandly, staring up at it with barely any interest, wondering how it could be as wondrous as she had said.

Alice shook her head with a soft giggle and pulled me several feet closer to the rim of the tree, where, as she had said it, an opening was awaiting us in between the roots.

"Do you know what tree this is?" Before I could even let a word out, she continued. "It's the Whomping Willow! I know I had just said willow, but look!"

"The Whomping Willow? Ali, are you crazy? This thing could kill us!" I reprimanded and jumped back a couple of feet. I had thought the swaying was of the wind, but I had only realized now that there was none. The tree...it was alive, and sleeping restlessly.

"Oh, Ellie, come on now! Don't wimp out on me now," she said and grabbed my hand, practically dragging me back toward the rim. "Now, Pandora is waiting for us inside, so let's go! Don't want to keep her waiting...Follow me and be sure to not wake the tree!" She said, before getting a head start and diving face first into the hole and disappearing from sight.

With a deep breath, I took two large steps back and darted forward like a bullet, stumbling over a root on my way towards the hole.

Just as I was about to dive in, I received a large blow to the gut, sucking away all the breath I gave. My whole body flew back through the air like a lifeless rag doll, and I landed flat on my back.

As I gasped for air, unsuccessfully, I caught glimpses of the tree shaking and twirling, as if trying to shake away invisible birds.

Make sure not to wake the tree. It was advice I wish I had taken more closely to heart. As I stumbled over the roots, it woke up, and of course it would wake up and catch me. This is a world of magic, of course it would, of all things.

Rising to my feet, I study my arms and legs, covers in heaps of bruises, burning my skin with pain unimaginable. My scar has split down the middle to reveal a gaping line where blood seeps through. it was the pain I could feel the most.

I swallowed a large breath before taking off at a large speed, dodging the oncoming branches, and slipping through the hole in the ground. Down, down, down I went before coming face first onto a hard dirt surface below.

Groaning in pain, I rub my nose as two pairs of hands try to lift me from my position on the ground, dragging me along for a moment until we reach sturdy ground.

As I rubbed my face to make sure it was okay, I stood steadily, catching sight of Pandora and Alice among a scene of an old room, dimly lit. The floor creaked and groaned beneath our weight, screeching out an unbearable pain of the years. The room was lit only by sun rays through paneled curtains and candlelight. Dust particles flew around the room, causing me to cough and sneeze non stop.

Letting my eyes adjust, I see it full of old desks, drawers, dressers, old wardrobes, and trunks. The room holds a bed in the center, and the room is all decked out in styles no one would often see in years.

I let out a gasp as amazement filled my eyes, causing Pandora to giggle a say, "I know right! It could do with a little touch up here and there, but other than that, it would make for a perfect hide-out for you, me, Ali, and Lily."

We made plans and talked about what we could do to brighten up the place before checking the time, realizing it was best to get going, as Lily was probably looking for us.

We cautiously crawled through a tunnel and out the way we entered, from the hole, sneaking past the sleeping Whomping Willow.

A loud conversation busted out from us as we drew far enough away from the tree about the full moon that would occur tonight, and how we would sneak out and come right back.

Not so far away, I spotted Lupin underneath the Willow Tree reading a cheesy romance novel, which was quite funny and cute, in my opinion, as I thought he was one into the scientific novels.

As Alice and Pandora talked loudly to each other, heading back to the castle, I began to wonder why I have caught Lupin alone and not with his best buds.

As curiosity got the best of me, I broke away from the other two, who hardly noticed at all, and snuck over to Lupin, a smile playing at my lips..

Hiding behind the small willow tree, I listened to his soft chuckles at the words jumped off the pages and wound him up in the storyline of comfort. My thoughts about him and the other three clouded my mind at the thought, and whisked me out of my state of reality...My state of absence let the slightest thing scare me, oh so simply.

"What are you doing?" A small voice interrupted and I gave a small shriek, dropping back to my body.

Remus stood right in front of me, having climbed down the tree, with a tense raised brow, his arms folded over his chest.

"I was...I was just-"

"Spying on me?" He finished with a sneer.

"What? No, I wasn't-"

"Yes, you were," he started, sounding quite bored with my denial.

I coughed a little, stalling on what to say that would keep him from that conclusion. "What were you reading?" I asked, although I already knew the answer to that, as I had seen the cover.

"It's...nothing," he said hastily, his eyes darting to his bag where the book slightly hung out.

"Mhm," I hummed suspiciously, my gaze following his.

"It's really nothing-"

"Right..." I said again with a mischievous smirk.

He gave an annoyed sigh and shook his head at me, as if it weren't important any longer. "Enough of what I'm reading. Why were you spying on me?"

"You just looked alone...like...lonely," I told him, rubbing my arm obnoxiously while shifting my gaze to my feet.

His expression softened the slightest bit, but he kept his walls up. "Lonely? For your information, I enjoy the solitude. The next time you'd like to spy and jump to conclusions, warn me," he snapped and turned away.

"Listen, Lupin," I began, apologetic for the conclusion, "if you are at all tired with your gang and all, you could join my friends and I for the full moon, and-"

"My gang? Rummage, you know nothing! Just give me space and leave me be! I don't want to join your little group of gossipers," he barked and gathered his bag, leaving me in an uncomfortable silence.

"Have it your way, Lupin! No need to be such a prat!" With that, I stormed off, not needing him to leave me feeling guilty. I left to spend the rest of the night with my best friends, in perfect comfort.


End file.
